The Swatch Group announced on 29 August the creation of a revolutionary balance spring with exceptional paramagnetic characteristics. This balance spring is made from a new non-magnetic compensating alloy called Nivachron™ which the Swatch Group developed in collaboration with Audemars Piguet.

According to the Swatch Group, a Nivachron balance spring significantly reduces the influence of the residual effect of a magnetic field on the running of a watch – by a factor of 10 to 20, depending on the caliber. The balance spring is also said to be very stable in the face of temperature variations experienced in wearing conditions while offering excellent shock resistance. In combination, these advantages promise significant improvement in chronometric performance.

Magnetic fields are pervasive in our environment, and they can severely disrupt mechanical watch movements, degrading their performance and even stopping them completely. A titanium-base alloy, Nivachron is the Swatch Group’s latest innovation to address this, coming after their silicon-based balance springs developed with the Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology (CSEM) which have held the standard in magnetic resistance in recent years.